COVENTRY: ITS HISTORY, ROMANCE, CHURCHES, AND ANCIENT BUILDINGS

The ancient city of Coventry—situated amidst sylvan scenery of great beauty, should if possible be approached by the wayfarer from Kenilworth along the unrivalled avenue which is also the high road—is of great antiquity and of very considerable interest to the archÆologist. Seen from a distance, on account of its many church spires, it presents a wonderfully picturesque appearance; and with its old–world survivals in the shape of timbered houses and the exquisite architecture of its churches, is one of the most interesting towns of the Midlands.

One derivation of the name is generally supposed to indicate that it was originally Couentre; the first syllable representing a convent, with the addition of the British affix “tre,” meaning a town. Other authorities appear, however, to think that the name was derived from Cune, the Celtic name of the River Sherbourne, on which the town stands, and the affix “tre,” as already explained. At any rate the town is of great antiquity, and is generally supposed to have been founded by the Britons, although it is agreed that its history cannot be traced with any great degree of accuracy prior to about 1016, when, according to Rous the historian, Canute, King of Denmark, during his invasion of Mercia amongst other ravages destroyed a nunnery, which at that period had been founded at Coventry. The same authority further states that no attempt was made to restore or rebuild this establishment until about the middle of the same century, when Leofric, then Earl of Mercia, and his Countess, the famous Godiva, founded a Benedictine monastery on a site half a mile to the south of the original Saxon Nunnery of St. Osburg.

It appears that Leofric not only bestowed upon the monastery half of the entire town, but also gave to it in the reign of Edward the Confessor no less than twenty–four other towns in the county of Warwick and elsewhere. Leofric’s lady, Godiva, also enriched this foundation with much treasure, searching throughout the country for “skilful goldsmiths, who, with all the gold and silver she had, made crosses, images of saints, and other curious ornaments, which she devoutly disposed thereto.”

Leofric died in 1057, and was buried in one of the porches of the church of the monastery which he had founded, which ultimately became the Cathedral of the diocese, a proud position it held until the bishopric was removed to Lichfield. His Countess survived him many years, but the date of her death is not recorded, although it is known that she was buried in the same church.

It was Leofric’s Countess Godiva or Godeva around whom the well–known legend centres. Although there seems little doubt that it had less foundation in fact than the romantic desire, it was certainly an accepted legend and believed by many as embodying an historical fact in the early part of the reign of Edward the Confessor.

The first description of this somewhat apocryphal ride is to be found in the writings of Roger of Wendover, a chronicler of the beginning of the twelfth century; that is to say of a date about one hundred years after the time when the event is said to have taken place. The account given by this writer, whose work generally we are bound to state is open to considerable question on the score of accuracy, runs as follows:—

Into this ancient version of the “Godiva legend” more modern elaborations have been imported. These, stating nothing of Godiva’s garment formed by her own tresses, record that the people being forewarned of the Countess’s intentions all remained indoors behind closed shutters, out of respect for her and her desire to serve them; and in consequence she rode unobserved except by one inquisitive tailor, whose Christian name was Tom. It is he who has been handed down to posterity and obloquy under the nick–name of “Peeping Tom,” whose eyes as a punishment for his curiosity and indiscretion are said to have either dropped out of his head or were smitten with blindness!

Unhappily this romantic story, which casts a sidelight upon the manners and morals of those early times, and also upon the attitude of husbands towards their wives, is open to grave criticism regarding its authenticity. Indeed, most authorities are inclined to believe that at all events the part relating to “Peeping Tom” is of no greater antiquity than the reign of Charles II., and that the remainder of the story does not date earlier than King John, at least one hundred and fifty years later than the date of Godiva’s traditional ride.

That this story of Godiva’s self–sacrifice in the interests of the oppressed inhabitants of Coventry has very little foundation on actual fact is proved by several circumstances; the chief of which are, that other more trustworthy chroniclers, who, writing at the actual period when the event is supposed to have taken place, whilst recording fully the many good actions which the Earl and Countess undoubtedly did perform, make no mention of Godiva’s ride. Another fact is that the population of Coventry was so small at that period that there was scarcely likely to have been in existence a market of the size suggested by Roger of Wendover, and, indeed, hardly a town at all through which Godiva could have ridden. Yet another circumstance is that with so small a place a mere toll would have been a matter of such small consequence, when the majority of the people were serfs, that Leofric would certainly have remitted it without exacting such a condition from his wife. There are, indeed, several versions in different countries of legends closely allied in general detail to that of Godiva, and it is more than probable that this particular one is of great antiquity, which became tacked on to the life of this famous woman without any real foundation in fact.

The mention of Coventry in the Domesday Book, which was written nearly thirty years later than Leofric’s death, describes the place, even with its fine monastery, which Leofric founded, as little more than a small agricultural village, with a population probably of not more than three hundred to three hundred and fifty souls. Most of the houses at that far–off period were the merest hovels, without windows; whilst nearly all the adult inhabitants, save the very aged, were engaged in agricultural occupations.

By the year 1218, when Henry III. granted a charter for a yearly fair, lasting eight days, Coventry must of course have grown very considerably; and it is interesting to know that it was in connection with this fair in 1677, that the legend of Countess Godiva’s ride took form as a pageant and procession, the last of which took place on August 2, 1892. On that occasion the rÔle of the self–sacrificing Countess of ancient times was played by a young lady attired in fleshings and a short jerkin–like garment of white satin, who also wore a pair of white kid gloves, a plume, and a flaxen wig!

Sixteen years after the institution of the fair the Franciscans or Grey Friars founded an establishment in Coventry; and their coming was followed about ten years later by the Carmelites or White Friars; and in 1381 there was also a settlement of Carthusians near the south–east gate. Edward III., in 1344, constituted in the city a Municipal Corporation by letters patent, and for the better security of Coventry the inhabitants obtained from the same King permission to levy a toll towards the expense of fortifying and enclosing the town, to be commenced twenty–seven years after the grant was obtained. It appears, however, that the fortifications were commenced in 1355, and the walls and gates were finished in the time of Richard II. With the walling in of Coventry the merchants of the period became enriched, the town flourished and extended, and the beautiful steeple of St. Michael’s Church was designed and partly finished. In addition to this, the staple manufacture of clothing was cultivated, and public buildings of adequate importance began to be constructed.

It was just outside the city, on Gosford Green, that the famous meeting took place in September 1397, between Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, afterwards Henry IV., and Thomas de Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, to which encounter Shakespeare himself refers in “King Richard II.” The duel, which the King commanded to be fought on this spot, arose from a quarrel between the ducal combatants, Hereford having accused Norfolk of speaking disrespectfully of his Sovereign. Richard and a great number of the nobility had gathered in the brilliant sunshine of that September day on the triangular piece of greensward where two of the greatest nobles of the realm were to engage in single combat, the trial by combat of those far–off days. But just as the champions were about to commence hostilities Richard suddenly placed his veto upon the encounter and banished both of the disputants from England; Hereford for ten years, and Norfolk for life.

It was in 1451 that Henry VI. conferred on Coventry and certain contiguous villages the honour of being constituted a county of themselves, and the charter which made this enactment provided that the bailiffs of the city should be also sheriffs of the county, and that the same coroner should preside over both. Edward IV. confirmed the charter, and in the agricultural survey of Warwickshire, it is mentioned that the county and city of Coventry, situated in the north–east part of Warwickshire, with “the greatest length from Bedworth, to a point named Baginton, in a north–east and south–west direction, is 7–1/2 miles; and the greatest breadth, from Nettlehill to Brownshill Green, in about an east and west direction, is 7–1/4 miles.”

Exhall, Keresley, Anstey, Foleshill, Stivichall, Stoke, a part of Sow, and Wyken, are all united with the city to form the county of Coventry. The Quarter Sessions were, prior to 1842, held with the same full powers as counties at large, and the men and aldermen of the city had considerable privileges as well as being Justices of the Peace.

It was in the Priory that Henry VI. held a second Parliament in the year 1459, known to the Yorkists as the “Parliamentum Diabolicum,” this name being given to the assembly on account of the large number of attainders which were passed by it against the Yorkists, including Richard, Duke of York, and the Earls of March, Salisbury, and Warwick.

Afterwards King Edward IV. and his Queen spent the Christmas festival in the city in 1465, evidently with the intention of winning over the citizens to the Yorkist side; but it is recorded that even the presence of the King and Queen was not sufficient to alienate their affections from the House of Lancaster.

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Four years later the outskirts of Coventry was the scene of one of the too frequent tragedies of those unsettled times, when Earl Rivers and his son were beheaded at Gosford Green by the orders of Sir John Coniers, who had obtained some partial success in Oxfordshire. In the following year, 1470, the Earl of Warwick, on his return from France, entered Coventry, which was still Lancastrian in sympathy, with much war material and hostile intentions to the inhabitants. On hearing of the Earl of Warwick’s presence King Edward, who lay at Leicester with his forces, marched thence, and after resting at Coombe Abbey, proceeded to Gosford Green, and then approaching Coventry demanded admission; but this being refused, he continued his march to Warwick. Later on, when he had won the decisive battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, and had regained power, Edward, in revenge for the action of the people of Coventry in refusing to receive him in the previous year, deprived them of many of their privileges and levied upon them a considerable fine, amounting to five hundred marks. But the King soon realised that the good–will of the townsfolk was of too great importance for him to risk losing it by undue severity; and, therefore, on payment of the fine, their privileges of which they had been deprived were again restored to them.

Four years later Edward kept the Feast of St. George at Coventry, and in the same year his son stood as godfather to the Mayor’s child, and was presented with a cup and a hundred guineas, and also made a brother of the Guilds of Corpus Christi and Holy Trinity.

Richard II. also visited the city, and Henry VII. came and lodged at the Mayor’s immediately after the decisive victory over Richard III. at Bosworth Field.

It would appear that the people of Coventry of these days were opulent and generous, but exercised little originality in the form of the gifts they bestowed upon royal or distinguished visitors, for, like Prince Edward of York a few years previously, Henry VII. was presented with a cup and a hundred guineas, and seems to have made so favourable an impression upon the townsfolk that they a few years later subscribed £1100 towards the tax which was levied for the purpose of defraying the expense of the King’s expedition to France.

Henry VIII. and Catherine of Arragon visited Coventry in 1510, and witnessed three magnificent pageants; and it is possible that the prosperity of the town, which was popularly attributed as chiefly owing to the magnitude and wealth of its monastic institutions, may have suggested to the King’s mind the idea of the ultimate suppression of these foundations. Be it as it may, it was stated by one John Hales, Esq., to the Protector Somerset, “that in consequence of the Dissolution trade grew so low, and there was such a dispersion of people from this city, that there were not even 3000 inhabitants, whereas there had been formerly 15,000.” Although this picture of the desolation wrought by the suppression of the religious houses is probably painted in too vivid colours, there seems little doubt that great distress resulted in the years immediately following the arbitrary action of Henry VIII.’s minister Cromwell, for we find that although at least one branch of commerce, the clothing trade, was still flourishing, a charter for an additional fair was granted to alleviate the distress of the remaining inhabitants.

One of the great features of Coventry life in the Middle Ages was undoubtedly the wealth and influence of the numerous bodies called Guilds, which were of both a religious and secular character, and to the support of these must be attributed much of the fame that distinguished Coventry for its “mysteries” or sacred plays. These dramatic performances, which partook of much of the character of that most interesting and popular survival of the present day “Everyman,” took place on movable platforms which were drawn through the principal streets and open places. The subjects of these plays were generally Scriptural or semi–Scriptural in character, and the different festivals, more especially that of Corpus Christi, were popular days for the representations. In addition to these there was at Coventry the play on Hock Tuesday, which was founded upon incidents of the Massacre of the Danes, and also pageants which were performed on the occasion of Royal visits, and at other special times.

On the occasion of Queen Elizabeth’s visit to Coventry in 1565, during one of her progresses she was received by the sheriffs in scarlet cloaks and a score of young men on horseback, clad in a livery of fine purple. The Queen was met at the limits of the liberties of the city in the direction of Wolvey, and each of the young men presented to the Queen a white rod, which she receiving delivered to them again, and they then rode before her until they came near the city, when the Mayor and Aldermen in their scarlet cloaks came out to receive her. As was the custom in these times a presentation of money was made; the Recorder, we learn, presenting “a purse, supposed to be worth twenty marks, and in it £100 in angels,” which the Queen accepting was pleased to say to her lords: “It is a good gift, a hundred pounds in gold; I have but few such gifts.”

To which the Mayor answering boldly, replied: “If it please your Grace, there is a good deal more in it.”

“What is that?” said she.

“The hearts,” he replied, “of all your loving subjects.”

“We thank you, Mr. Mayor,” said the Queen.

This at any rate is a much more courtier–like account of the presentation than that recorded by another writer, by whom the Mayor is said to have made the following rhyming address to the Queen, which, if the idea is based on fact at all, is probably a travesty fabricated at a later date:—

“We men of Coventree
Are very glad to see
Your gracious Majesty,

Good Lord, how fair ye bee!”

To which somewhat over–bold remark the Queen is stated to have replied sarcastically:—

“Your gracious Majesty
Is very glad to see
Ye men of Coventree,

Good lack, what fools ye bee!”

In the year previous to the Queen’s visit the plague had committed great ravages in the city, hundreds of the inhabitants falling victims, and the “dreadful dead carts passing constantly through the streets taking their horrible toll from most houses, and picking up those who had fallen of the sickness in the streets.” Thus with the clothing business falling to decay without any substitute being introduced to fill its place, and suffering from the suppression of the religious houses, Coventry was in but a poor state at the time of Elizabeth’s visit. The Recorder’s speech, however, which was very lugubrious, probably exaggerated the situation, although, as Mr. Brewer says, “the ardour of the natives had been damped when they saw the gorgeous piles of religious splendour, so long their pride and boast, one vast heap of ruins.”

The Queen during her visit lodged at the White Friars, then a residence of the Hales family, and was, notwithstanding the reputed decay and poverty of the times, entertained with lavish magnificence.

The next Royal visitor within the city walls had no pageants, addresses, or honours showered upon her, but hapless Mary Queen of Scots was brought to Coventry and shut up a prisoner in the Mayor’s parlour during the year following the coming of her royal cousin. Again, three years later, in 1569, she was brought to Coventry and incarcerated in the Bull Inn (the site of which is now occupied by the Barracks), and kept under the charge of the Earls of Shrewsbury and Huntingdon. The citizens had during her incarceration within their walls the melancholy and troublesome task of keeping watch and ward night and day at each of the gates, so that none might pass to or fro without good cause.

In 1610 King James I., in a letter addressed to the heads of the city and the Church, commanded that the inhabitants should kneel whilst receiving the sacrament, and when they several years later applied to him for a renewal of their charter the King refused to grant it until he had been satisfied that his command regarding their kneeling when receiving of the sacrament had been obeyed. A few years later the King visited Coventry and was presented with what must be almost considered the inevitable £100, and in addition thereto with a silver cup of fine workmanship weighing forty–five ounces, out of which, the King exclaimed, that he would drink wherever he went.

During the succeeding reign and the Civil War which broke out, Coventry attached itself to the side of Parliament; the influence of Lord Brooke of Warwick overpowering that of the Earl of Northampton, who was Recorder and a staunch Royalist. At the outset of the war, King Charles, after he had raised his standard at Nottingham, sent to Coventry and demanded quarters, and these being refused he attacked the city in full force and succeeded in capturing one of the gates. He was, however, finally repulsed with considerable loss, and obliged to abandon his attempt to take the town. For this act of contumacy and the fact that it was garrisoned by Parliamentary troops until the Restoration it was destined to suffer later on. Charles II., notwithstanding the enthusiastic demonstrations of the inhabitants at his restoration and the surrender of possessions which the city had originally purchased from the Crown, did not forget the part Coventry had played during the Civil War, and a commission held in 1662 prescribed the demolition of the city walls as a mark of the King’s displeasure for the disloyalty of the inhabitants to his father. This act was immediately put into effect by the Earl of Northampton. All that now remains of the fortifications are two of the gates, Cook Street Gate, now a mere roofless shell, and the Swanswell or Priory Gate in Hales Street, which after the archway had been blocked up some years ago was converted into dwellings.

Twenty–five years later, when King James II. visited Coventry, the citizens, no doubt remembering the exactions and punishment under which they suffered in the previous reign for their old–time disloyalty to the Crown, paid the King the greatest marks of attention and respect. They presented him with a gold cup and cover, and even went the length of smoothing the rough surfaces of their streets with sand, white–washing their houses, and decorating them with garlands and flags. Occasionally interesting relics of the Roman occupation are discovered when excavating foundations for new buildings, and when laying out new roads.

Rich in ancient buildings Coventry is full of interest to the students of medieval architecture and to the archÆologist. Of the ancient monastery church of the Grey Friars, which was built in the reign of Edward III., little now remains save the beautiful octagonal tower and spire, which rises to a height of upwards of 200 feet. This church became so rich in later years from the gifts bestowed upon it by various benefactors that the historian William of Malmesbury writes of it: “It was enriched and beautified with so much gold and silver that the walls seemed too narrow to contain it; insomuch that Robert de Limesie, Bishop of this diocese in the time of King William Rufus, scraped from one beam that separated the shrines 500 marks of silver.” The church was also a rich storehouse of relics, amongst which, placed in a beautiful silver shrine, was an arm of St. Augustine, and on the casket containing it was a notification of its purchase from the Pope by Agelnethus, Archbishop of Canterbury.

After the suppression of the monasteries the site and remains of the church were granted about 1542 to the Mayor and Corporation, and, as was the case with many other similar buildings, the partially ruined church served for a long period as a quarry from which the inhabitants appear to have drawn building materials for their own houses.

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Fortunately, however, the elegant tower escaped. It was ultimately and for many years surrounded by an orchard, which belonged to a nurseryman who turned the lower portion of the tower into a piggery, and who used to laughingly boast that he possessed the tallest pig–sty in the country. In the early years of the last century the idea of building on a new church to the old tower presented itself to the minds of some Coventry people, and the Corporation released their rights to the tower for the purpose. The work, which was commenced in 1829, was finished three years later. The idea, we believe, was to erect this church in the style of the original, but one can scarcely credit that this intention was carried out if one may at the same time accept the statement that the ancient building was of such elegance and beauty as chroniclers have recorded.

In St. Michael’s Church one has, however, an early and remarkably beautiful example of Perpendicular architecture, the tower and spire of which is almost world–famed.

In the reign of King Stephen a grant was made to the prior of the neighbouring Benedictine monastery, and this constitutes the earliest mention of the church. Of the original building, which was of Norman design, only a few fragments have from time to time been discovered, and the first church was superseded in the thirteenth century by one of Early English design, of which nothing except some portions of the walls, the south–west doorway, and the south porch remain at the present day.

The present beautiful church was probably erected between the year 1373 and the first half of the next century, its founders being members of a family named Botoner. William and Adam Botoner were not only prosperous merchants and notable citizens of Coventry, but had each of them the unusual distinction of filling the office of Mayor three times. The munificence of the family, tradition asserts, was perpetuated by a brass tablet which was formerly affixed in the church, and bore the following inscription:—

William and Adam built the tower,
Ann and Mary built the spire;

William and Adam built the church,
Ann and Mary built the quire.

Strange to relate, the tower was the first part of the church to be commenced, and this, finished in 1394, had its cost defrayed by the two brothers we have mentioned, who made yearly payments for the purpose of £100. Thirty–eight years later the spire was commenced by the sisters Ann and Mary, but the date of its completion is uncertain. Two years after the commencement of the spire these benevolent women undertook the building of the central aisle.

The tower is built in four stages, and has a height of 136 feet; the two upper stages are pierced with windows and beautified with panelling and canopied niches, which contain a considerable number of figures; the latter are a somewhat cosmopolitan collection, made up chiefly of saints, but also comprising statuettes of members of the Botoner family we have before referred to, Lady Godiva, her husband, and several English kings and their wives. The flying buttresses supporting the tower are of very great beauty and grace, two springing from each pinnacle of the main tower and resting against the angles of the octagonal lantern, above which rises the beautiful spire to a further height of 130 feet, the total elevation of the whole being just over 300 feet.

Although the spire is still of great beauty much of the detail of the original ornamentation has unfortunately disappeared, owing to the soft nature of the stone used in its construction.

The total length of the church is 293 feet, with a greatest width of 127 feet, the nave being 50 feet in height. The interior, with its long range of slender columns in the nave, and the number of large windows and the fine timbered roof, has a very beautiful effect. The chapels of the various Guilds now form the north and south outer aisles, and still go by the names which they bore at the time the members of these various organisations were in the habit of worshipping in them.

Beginning with those on the south side, next the tower, the first is the Dyers’ Chapel, on the walls of which are some interesting monuments dating from the early years of the seventeenth century onwards. Next comes the Cappers’ Room, over the south porch, with the chapel devoted to the same Guild, and known as St. Thomas’, on the east side. The Mercers’ Chapel, near by, also contains some interesting monuments of the sixteenth century, worthy of attention as marking, both in their style and the inscriptions they bear, the florid spirit of the times. From this chapel a flight of steps leads down into the vestry, an extension of the ancient sacristy, which tradition asserts was used sometimes as a prison; carved on the wall of which is a crucifix, supposed to be the work of some prisoner confined for an ecclesiastical offence.

The apse of the church, formerly the Lady Chapel, contains nothing of any great note save the fragments of ancient stained glass collected from various windows in other portions of the church, now placed in a few of those of the apse.

The reredos is partly Early English, and partly Decorated in style, and the eastern compartments contain some good sculpture. The Drapers’ Chapel, which is situated in the north aisle, is of considerable artistic interest, as it contains thirteen stalls which have finely carved standards and misereres or folding seats, the under portions of which are ornamented with humorous designs. On the north wall of the chapel is an ancient brass, dating about 1506, to the memory of Thomas Bond, Mayor of Coventry in 1497, and founder of the Bablake Hospital. Next is St. Lawrence’s Chapel, followed by the Girdlers’ Chapel; and last of all the Smiths’ or St. Andrew’s Chapel, containing some interesting tombs removed from their original position in the Drapers’ Chapel.

The pulpit, though a fine one, is modern; but the font at the west end of the chancel is in all probability the one given by John Cross, then Mayor of Coventry, to the church in 1394; it bears on a small brass plate a shield containing four crosses, the ancient merchants’ mark.

Almost a rival to St Michael’s, at least in interest if not in beauty, is the church of the Holy Trinity, the date of the original foundation of which is unknown, but certain portions of the present building in and above the north porch probably date from about the middle of the thirteenth century, at which time the church was joined to the priory. It is an undoubted fact, however, that a much earlier building must have existed on the same spot. The present church, which is 178 feet long and 67 feet broad, probably dates from a short time before that of St. Michael’s, and differs very much from it both as regards its form and construction. In shape it is cruciform, and consists of a nave with north and south aisles, a chancel with chapels, and transepts. The tower and spire are situated in the centre, and are supported on four arches, springing from massive but well–proportioned piers. The ancient spire was blown down during the terrific hurricane of January 24, 1665, the church being greatly damaged by its fall. The task of rebuilding it and repairing the injury done to the church was commenced almost immediately, and so rapidly did the work proceed that the spire was completed in two years to a height of 237 feet, which is supposed to be somewhat greater than that of the one destroyed.

Over the north porch, which is the most ancient portion of the present church, is situated a domus or priest’s chamber, the east side window of which was formerly a doorway leading into St. Thomas’ Chapel.

Prior to the Reformation there were a large number of chapels and altars attached to Holy Trinity, the chief of which were the Marlers’ or Mercers’ Chapel to the east of the transept; the chapel of Our Lady, now forming the choir vestry, anciently a continuation of the south chancel aisles; the Butchers’ Chapel; the Jesus Chapel in the south transept; and the Tanners’ or Barkers’ Chapel in the south aisle of the nave.

In 1831 a fresco, illustrative of the Last Judgment, was discovered in the space over the west arch under the tower. This survival, which was probably whitewashed over during Puritan times, has unfortunately deteriorated and become almost indistinguishable. The picture when discovered depicted the Saviour in the centre, seated on a rainbow, and flanked on either side by six apostles; at a slightly lower position were figures of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist; two angels with trumpets were sounding the summons to judgment, and the dead were seen issuing from their tombs. On the right hand of the Saviour was the figure of a pope entering Paradise, while on the left were figures of doomed spirits being dragged to torment.

The clerestory of the church is of the Perpendicular period, and is divided into eight bays, each containing two windows. The pulpit, attached to the south–east pier of the tower, is noticeable as being a fine specimen of stone–work in the Perpendicular style. The font, which stands on its original base of two steps, has sunk panels painted and gilt in the Decorated style. The brass eagle is of far greater interest than usually attaches to these things, owing to the fact that it is contemporary in date with the church itself, and is also one of the earliest examples of core casting.

A considerable amount of romance is connected with this lectern, for in 1560 an entry is found in which it is stated that xvjd were expended “for mendyng of ye Eagle’s tayle,” which had been damaged, possibly at the time of the suppression of the monasteries. This self–same eagle was threatened with even greater risk of destruction during the Commonwealth, for we find an entry in the vestry book of the date of July 13, 1654, which states “that Mr. Abraham Watts made a motion, that whereas he was informed that this House had an intention to sell the brass Eagle standing in the vestrie, that he might have the refusall thereof when such shall be mede.” An additional entry running, “Agreed, that if it be sold, he shall have the refusall thereof.” At the time when the lectern was nearly sold, the font, being in those times considered an objectionable survival of Romanism, was removed and an ordinary vessel was provided for use at baptisms. It was, however, fortunately preserved, and brought back and set up in its original position after the Restoration.

The handsome reredos was erected in 1873 by Sir Gilbert G. Scott, R.A., and represents the Crucifixion in the centre, with the Nativity and Ascension on either side.

An event of more than passing interest in connection with the church was the marriage, recorded in the register, of Sarah Kemble—afterwards the famous Mrs. Siddons—with William Siddons, an actor in the theatrical company of the bride’s father, which was at the time performing in the Drapers’ Hall.

The Church of John the Baptist, also known as Bablake Church, is one well worth visiting, especially by students of architecture and archaeology. It possesses a fine lantern tower with battlements springing from the centre of the church. Since 1774 it has been the Parish Church.

Coventry, famous in the past for its religious foundations and ecclesiastical architecture, was not perhaps less notable for its buildings of a purely domestic or municipal character, and happily not a few of these have survived, either complete or in part, to provide object lessons for the student and the lover of antiquities.

Amongst the beautiful buildings which make this town still one of the most interesting in the Midlands, is St. Mary’s Hall, hard by the church of St. Michael. This fine and ancient building, which, however, from the dilapidation of the stone–work front, possesses a somewhat heavy and decayed appearance from the outside, and is too closely surrounded by other buildings for a good general view to be obtained, was commenced towards the end of the fourteenth century, and completed in 1414 by the united Guilds of St. Mary, St. John the Baptist, St. Catherine, and Holy Trinity, known as the Trinity Guild. Unfortunately, the front and the tower at the south–west angle has been allowed to fall into decay, the two upper stories of the latter having long ago vanished.

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The courtyard is entered through the depressed archway leading into a finely vaulted porch, on the central boss of the groining of which is an interesting carving representing the coronation of the Virgin, and on the projecting impost of the inward arch on the right hand is a representation of the Annunciation; whilst the impost on the opposite side is ornamented with animal grotesques. There is a lofty room on the east side of the porch, which was formerly the chapel of the Mercers’ Company. The courtyard lies beyond this, and on the western side of it is the entrance to the crypt beneath the Great Hall. Near the windows of the crypt are the ancient lockers, used for the safe custody of documents and other valuables belonging to members of the Guild. In the smaller chamber next the street are several relics, not the least interesting of which is the knave’s post, a figure six feet high, having arm openings, which was removed from a wall in Much Park Street in 1886. It came originally from one of the religious houses, and was the goal of offenders, who, sentenced to be whipped at the cart’s tail, usually started from the Mayor’s parlour in Cross Cheaping, to which they were sometimes also whipped back. The last occasion on which a public whipping was given is supposed to have been between the years 1820 and 1830. The old Coventry stocks, which are also to be found in this room, formerly standing in the market–place, and last used in July 1861, are threefold, which speaks but ill for the conduct of the town.

The south end of the inner court is the kitchen, which was originally the hall of the Merchants’ or St. Mary’s Guild, turned to its present use when the new hall was erected. Unfortunately the chamber has suffered considerably at various times from repairs and structural alterations. It contains four great chimneys, with an opening in the roof to allow of the escape of steam. In the lobby on the eastern side of the courtyard is an interesting statue, which, however, has been considerably restored and is generally believed to represent Henry VI. It once formed one of the chief figures on the ancient city Cross in Cross Cheaping, which was unfortunately demolished in 1771. Dugdale wrote of it as “one of the chief things wherein this city most glories, which for workmanship and beauty is inferior to none in England.”

From the lobby a broad staircase leads up to the vestibule, and thus to the Great Hall, in which so many historic scenes in past times have taken place. Up these stairs in ancient days passed the leading citizens of Coventry, and also, in all likelihood, some at least of the royal and famous visitors who have at various times been received by the town. The great hall, which is some 70 feet long, 30 feet broad, and 34 feet high, is lighted by seven Perpendicular windows, three on either side, each containing four lights, and mullioned and transomed, and a fine nine–light window set in the northern end. This latter is filled with ancient stained glass, the upper portion with nineteen coats of arms, and the lower containing a number of full length representations of kings, amongst whom are William I., Richard I., Henry III., Henry IV., Henry V., Henry VI., Constantine the Great, King Arthur, and one unidentified. The glass is by the John Thornton who was a native of Coventry, and also the artist of the magnificent east window in York Minster. The roof of this beautiful hall is of oak, very richly carved, with the space above the tie beams filled with open panel–work. In the centre are full–length figures of angels, symbolical of the Heavenly Hosts, bearing in their hands musical instruments; whilst the bosses at the intersection of the ribs are also richly carved.

The tapestry hanging below the north window, which is beautiful work, although of Flemish design, was probably made in England either in the last years of the fifteenth or commencement of the sixteenth century. One thing is clear from the lines of the divisions corresponding with the mullions in the window above, namely, that it was originally made for the purpose to which it is applied. There are three compartments, each of them divided into an upper and lower tier, and the subject of the tapestry is popularly supposed to represent incidents of the visit paid by Henry VI. and his Queen Margaret to Coventry on September 21, 1451, on which occasion they were the guests of the Prior of the Benedictines. Not only is this tapestry of great antiquarian interest, but it is also valuable as representing some of the famous people of Henry VI.’s reign and the costumes of that and of other days. Especially to be noted are the subjects occupying the centre compartment, which relate to the connection of the building with the Trinity Guild, and that also of the Guild of St. Mary which was incorporated with it. One strange anachronism in connection with the pictures in the first tier of the first compartment is the representation of Duke Humphrey and Cardinal Beaufort as being present at the time of the visit of King Henry. Both of these predeceased the occasion by several years, and probably the explanation of their presence is the fact that the work was undertaken and completed a considerable time after the visit of the King.

In the upper row of the middle compartment is a figure of Justice enthroned, surrounding which are angels holding in their hands the instruments of the Passion. It is supposed that this incongruity was due to the insertion of the figure of Justice in Puritan times, and authorities differ in their views as to whether the evidently offending and deleted figure was that of the Trinity or Christ. Mr. Scharf, who has made a close study of this particular work, is of the opinion that the remains of the handsome throne and part of a beautiful embroidered mantle which are depicted, may have belonged to a seated figure of Christ clad in flowing robes, often the subject of paintings at that particular period. His argument, which is as follows, indeed seems to be a weighty one. He writes, “had it been a representation of the Trinity with the first Person holding a crucifix, I do not think we should have had the angels with the instruments of the Passion, but rather the four emblems of the Evangelists, as on the canopy of the tomb of the Black Prince at Canterbury, and in various MS. illuminations.”

Whatever may be the true explanation of this inserted and incongruous figure, one cannot feel other than satisfaction that the mutilation of the tapestry, permitted by Puritan fanaticism, did not proceed to greater lengths.

In the hall are a number of royal portraits, including pictures of Charles II. and James II. by Lely, and of George III. and George IV. by Sir Thomas Lawrence; and on the walls are also some Latin inscriptions, including one surmounted by the letters E.R. celebrating Queen Elizabeth, and another commemorating the Black Prince.

Within recent years a new fireproof Muniment Room has been built downstairs, where is kept a most valuable and interesting series of documents. Earliest of these is a charter received from Ranulph, Earl of Chester, in the reign of Henry II. A similar document of Confirmation, granted in the reign of Charles II., has additional interest from the fact that it contains a fine miniature portrait of the King. In addition to more important documents relative to Coventry affairs are many most interesting and unique letters, some of them of a more or less private character. One in particular from Margaret, the mother of Henry VII., calling attention in peremptory language to a former and unanswered letter. There are two communications from Henry VIII., one bearing a written signature and the other stamped with a wooden stamp.

Another exceedingly interesting letter is that received by the Mayor of Coventry in September 1534, dated the 12th of that month, from Ann Boleyn, announcing to him the birth of her daughter Elizabeth, afterwards Queen. There is also one from Elizabeth herself, dated thirty–six years later, relative to the arrival at Coventry of unhappy Mary Queen of Scots.

A strange side light upon the custom of the times is thrown by an indenture dated Warwick, 1478, relating to some jewels which the impecunious Duke of Clarence had pledged to the city. There are other letters from royal personages, including Edward IV., Richard III., Henry VII., James I., Charles II., James II., and from Archbishops Laud and Cranmer, and Richard Baxter. In addition to all these memorials of the past, valuable alike for their historical and antiquarian interest, is a remarkable miscellaneous collection of nearly twenty thousand documents, including deeds of gift, charters, grants, leases, etc., and a set of the trade–marks of Guild members impressed in wax, extending from the reign of Edward I. down to the latter half of the fifteenth century.

At the rear of the Minstrel Gallery is a large room formerly used as the armoury, in which is hung a fine picture, the “Bacchanali,” by Luca Giordano, and at the back of these apartments is another room, traditionally supposed to have been that in which Mary Queen of Scots was confined when at Coventry.

The Mayoress’s parlour possesses a fine moulded ceiling, in two compartments, with diagonal ribs united in an octagonal panel. The fireplace has hollow jambs ornamented with tracery, copied from the banqueting hall of Kenilworth Castle, and is formed by a depressed Tudor arch; and above it is a figure of Godiva on horseback placed in a recess. The elaborately carved state chair of oak undoubtedly dates from the early part of the sixteenth century, and possibly even earlier. On one side is the figure of the Virgin and Child, whilst the other is simply panelled. The back is surmounted on one side by an elephant and castle—the town arms; and on the other side, which formerly was the centre, stand two lions acting as supporters for a coronet or crown, which has disappeared. The chair when perfect was a double one, and was probably made for the use of the Master of the Guild, and the Mayor, when present at its meetings. On the walls are hung some interesting portraits of royalty and of former mayors of the town.

Amongst the other buildings of Coventry worthy of note as representing survivals of ancient architecture is the Bablake Hospital, endowed by one Thomas Bond in 1506. “For”—as it is quaintly phrased—“ten poore men, so long as the world shall endure, with a woman to look to them.” This Thomas Bond was a draper of the city, and also its Mayor, in 1497; when Perkin Warbeck was causing rebellion.

Even a brief consideration of Coventry would be incomplete without a mention of the famous Guilds which in medieval times played so prominent a part in its civic history. Of the many founded in the city the oldest of all having a religious character was that of St. Mary, which used to hold its annual meeting of Masters, Brothers, and Sisters on Assumption Day, as the quaint spelling of the time had it, “En sale n’re dame,” in other words, in St. Mary’s Hall.

As showing the power and importance of this Guild, and, indeed, of the Guild system itself in ancient times, one only has to remember the Royal and noble persons who were frequently enrolled as members. Amongst those who became members of the Guild of Holy Trinity were Henry VI. and his Queen, Margaret of Anjou; Henry VII. and his Queen, Elizabeth of York; and Edward V. when he was Prince of Wales. It is interesting also to record that the name of Shakespeare is included among the brothers and sisters of the Guild.

The form of petition for admission into the Guild, and the oath which had to be taken by intending members at the ceremony of their admission, are both quaint; the former runs, “Maister, we beseech you, at the reverence of the Holy Trinity, that you will receive us to be brethren of this place with you.” And the latter runs, “Ye shall be good and true, and each of you shall be good and true to the Master of the Gild of the Holy Trinity, Our Lady, St. John and St. Catherine of Coventre, and to all the brethren and sisters of the same Gild; and all the good rules and ordinances by the said Master and his Brethren afore this time made, and hereafter to be made, and your days of payment truly for to keep to your power, so God you help and all Saints.”

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Amongst the other Guilds possessing royal members was that of Corpus Christi, instituted in the reign of Edward III., which rendered assistance to the churches of St. Michael and Holy Trinity, by part payment of the priests; of this Guild King Edward V. was a member.

The Trade Guilds, of which there were many, one of the oldest being that of the Sheremen and Tailors, founded in honour of the Nativity some time in the reign of Richard II., were very jealous of their privileges, and resented promptly any infringement upon their prerogative. An interesting instance of their action in this respect was afforded by a combination of the Guilds for the purpose of suppressing an imitation guild which some of the young men of the town had formed in the early years of the reign of Henry VI. Dugdale’s account of this action runs as follows:—

“The common people,” he says, “namely, Journeymen of several trades, observed what merry–meetings and feasts their masters had, by being of those Fraternities, and that they themselves wanted in like pleasure did of their own accord assemble together in several places of the city and especially in St. George’s Chapel near Gosford Gate, which occasioned the Mayor and his brethren in the 3rd year of Henry VI. to complain thereof to the King; alledging, that the said Journeymen in their unlawful meetings called themselves St. George his Gild, to the intent that they might maintain and abet one another in quarrels; and for their better conjunction had made choyce of a Master, with Clerks and Officers to the great contempt of the K. authority, prejudice of the other Gilds (viz. holy Trin and Corp Christi) and disturbance of the city; whereupon the King directed his Writ to the Mayor and Justices, with the Bayliffs of this City, commanding them by proclamation to prohibite any more such meetings.”

Thus were the perhaps not unnatural desires of young people of the Middle Ages to emulate the gaiety and junketings of their betters crushed by royal authority.

These trading Guilds were almost analogous to the ancient Companies of the City of London, and have in many cases survived to the present time, although nowadays their raison d’Être is somewhat far to seek, and one is forced to the conclusion that the chief excuse for their continued existence is the feeling that old institutions should not be allowed to disappear, even though the original and perhaps justified reasons for their foundation no longer obtain.

In some of the Guilds great and striking alterations have been made from their aforetime character, although they survive at the present day. The Guild of Fullers or Tailors and Sheremen, one of the most ancient, had at one time only one surviving brother, who nominated a second, and thus it remained until the year 1860, when the number was once more reduced to a single brother, who then made seven others.

Coventry, now so essentially a commercial city, in ancient days saw, perhaps, more of change and tragedy than most towns of central England. In the Middle Ages, indeed, stirring events succeeded one another with somewhat startling rapidity within its walls, and public executions were far less uncommon than the inhabitants could have wished. Opposite the old Black Bull Inn, where Henry VI. stayed after the Battle of Bosworth Field, and where Mary Queen of Scots was confined for several months in 1569 (now the site of the Barracks), one Thomas Harrington of Oxford was beheaded in 1487 for having claimed that he was the son of the Duke of Clarence. In the garden known as Park Hollows, near which are some fragments of the ancient city walls, during the Marian Persecution, several martyrs, including Lawrence Sanders, Cornelius Bungey, and Robert Glover were burnt for heresy.

From the town of these days it is a far cry, indeed, to the bustling modern city; still containing, however, somewhat of the philosophy of ancient civic life, though chiefly concerned with the manufacture of such modern things as bicycles, motors, and aeroplanes.

Even before the Great War the city was a hive of industry, and its rapid growth, and the wide extension of its boundaries have been, indeed, remarkable during the last decade.

To recount Coventry’s part in the waging of the Great War would occupy far more space than can be devoted to it in a book like the present; but many of the most essential elements in the ultimate victory had their origin in the wonderful activities of the ancient town.

War material, munitions, motor cars, aeroplanes, and petrol engines were turned out in enormous quantities. Thousands of skilled mechanics were drawn off from industry to play a more active part in the war overseas, but the older men, women, boys, and girls took their places, and magnificently carried on the ceaseless activities of providing the munitions of war.

A descriptive writer gave this war–time picture of Coventry. “It is a city of ancient greatness inspired with a spirit so modern as to strike one as being incongruous. There are few lights at night, for it is war time, but at sunset against the pale lemon evening sky its spires are sharply silhouetted, and the lofty chimneys of its restless factories trail diaphanous veils of smoke across the vault of heaven. Even at a distance one hears a murmurous hum of machines, which comes upon the evening air like the hum of innumerable bees.... Coventry never sleeps. In the age of the curfew it slept soundly, its streets dark as now. But to–day the work is continuous, for only that way can victory lie.”

Yes, Coventry bore its burden, did its share, and played its part.

But, seen from a little distance and from certain aspects, Coventry still possesses a strange old–world charm, and the more modern elements of its present–day life seem to fade away, leaving a picture of elegant spires rising from amid a sea of indistinct and even picturesquely disposed roofs.